THE ART OFBLADE RUNNERBLACK LOTUS
ISBN: 9781789097146e-book ISBN: 9781803360966
Published by Titan BooksA division of Titan Publishing Group Ltd.144 Southwark St.LondonSE1 0UP
First edition: September 202210 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
©2022 Imago Productions, LLC.
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Book editors:Frankie Piscitelli (Titan Books); Jeff Conner (Alcon Publishing)
ALCON PUBLISHING, LLCALCON TELEVISION GROUP, LLC
WRITTEN BYROLAND KELTS
CONTENTS
8
FOREWORD
10
INTRODUCTION
14
ELLE
20
BLACK LOTUS
22
DESERT ROAD
26
LOS ANGELES
30
VEHICLES
34
BLIMP
38
NOODLE BAR
40
DROVE
42
GANG LEADER
44
GANG MEMBERS
46
ALANI DAVIS
52
CEMETERY
54
DOC BADGER
56
JUNKYARD
58
J
64
J’S APARTMENT
66
SPINNER BIKE
68
VOIGHT-KAMPFF MACHINE
72
PICKFAIR HOTEL
74
LIMOUSINE
76
SENATOR BANNISTER
78
REPLICANT BOXERS
82
POOL ROOM
86
OTHER REPLICANTS
88
MIU
90
BUGGY
92
HOOPER
96
LAPD
102
CHIEF GRANT
104
JOSEPHINE GRANT
106
SECURITY GUARD
108
GRANT PENTHOUSE
112
MARLOWE
116
DOCTOR M & GOODMAN
118
MEMORY LABORATORY
122
J’S MEMORY MACHINE
124
ALAN CHEN
126
SELENE
128
SELENE’S BAR
132
WALLACE TOWER
136
WALLACE SENIOR
140
NIANDER WALLACE
148
WATER LILY
150
ATRIUM
154
JUNKYARD ROOFTOP
156
TYRELL SANCTUM
160
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
162
STORYBOARDS
170
BLACK OUT 2022
176
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
FOREWORD
BY ROLAND KELTS
Japan is embedded in Blade Runner’s cinematic universe. Right from the beginning.
Japanese signage dominates the 2019 dystopian Los Angeles cityscape in British director Ridley Scott’s 1982 original movie, released by Warner Bros., which is now a consecrated classic. Rows of ideophonic and phonetic Japanese characters, most in striking neon patterns, adorn buildings, storefronts and alleyways.
Japanese is also among the smörgåsbord of non- English languages that crop up throughout Blade Runner’s dialogue, notably during the noodle stand scene. Harrison Ford’s detective Rick Deckard orders fish and is rebuffed by the Japanese owner, who replies in his native language. Most memorable is the face of a Japanese geisha in a video advertisement projected onto the side of a massive skyscraper. Her face looms over the dark and misty city as she pops
a pill. According to the script, the pill is supposed to be a birth control drug. But the Japanese text indicates that it’s a brand of mild laxative sold in Japan to this day.
Most of the signs, too, are nonsensical: the dialogue is sometimes stilted or garbled. But none of that mattered—what it represented was an aura of Japanese culture infusing a futuristic American setting filtered through the vision of a British director. Science fiction was starting a journey to become globalized.
Almost forty years later, that journey continues. Blade Runner: Black Lotus is an anime series made in Tokyo by an international team; two Japanese directors, a Korean producer, soundtrack artists in the US, Canada and the UK, and voice actors in the US, Japan, Germany, the UK, and Canada. In our borderless twenty-first century world, Blade Runner: Black Lotus makes perfect sense.
BLACK
LOTUS
8
INTRODUCTION
THE WORLD OF BLADE RUNNER
“The desire to do a Blade Runner anime initially came from Joseph Chou from Sola Digital Arts in Tokyo,” explained Alcon Entertainment’s co-CEO Broderick Johnson. “The original film’s impact in Japan continues to resonate, and after learning that Alcon was making a Blade Runner movie, Joseph lobbied Al Cuenca from our company, who lobbied me and Andrew Kosove [Alcon Entertainment’s other co-CEO] to get intothe anime space with Blade Runner. Sola pulled out all the stops with anime short Black Out 2022; it was wonderful work, and the critical and fan response was very positive. So we’re going, ‘Why don’t we tell a continuing story based upon Blade Runner?’”
“There’s an expectation of what a Blade Runner story should have,” affirms head writer Eugene Son. “Our goal was to find new things, but there is a unique look and attitude that an audience expects… we felt comfortable that Black Lotus hits that but also has different perspectives.” Will Yun Lee, the voice actor for J, was ecstatic to land the role. “When I found out that I was getting to be a part of the Blade Runner universe I was insanely excited.”
An international team made Black Lotus. “Storytelling in Japan and Hollywood have gotten closer in terms of learning from each other,” explains Eugene Son. “We had a shorthand glossary. Terms of breaking acts, ways of telling stories, hanging a hat on things. There’s a level of
“TO HAVE WORKED WITHTHE GREATS, ARAMAKI-SANAND KAMIYAMA-SAN, WAS ANINCREDIBLE HONOR. THEIRATTENTION TO NUANCE, LAYERSAND TONE WAS INCREDIBLE.”
WILL YUN LEE
BLACK
LOTUS
12
LEFT/ Early sketches, concept art andfinal images of Doc Badger’s shop.
ABOVE/ Elle meets J for the first time.
respect for cultural sensibilities.”
The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t stop the team’s determination. “It’s been a wild experience trying to coordinate between myself recording in England, being voice directed by the amazing Wes Gleason [voice director] in LA, and working with Aramaki- san and Kamiyama-san in Japan,” the actress who voices Elle, Jessica Henwick, fondly recalls. “Some of our sessions have had them staying up until 5am! Their commitment to the show is incredible.”
Alessia Cara, the singer for the title sequence, also had her fair share of hoops to jump through. “In Alessia’s case, she sang a portion of the main title song into her cellphone!” music producer Michael Hodges remembered proudly. “We took it, Gerald Trottman [co-composer] made it sound amazing, and we dropped it into the main title. And it sounds ridiculous. I mean, it’s awesome.
